The Ace Pod 3.1: We've Been Had
This episode, as always, is brought to you by the law offices of E. Jason Blankenship, who may be socially distanced from the courthouse but is still taking on clients. You can find his new website here.
You can follow Connor on Twitter and subscribe to his newsletter, A Lonely Impulse of Delight, that includes literary analysis of Calvin & Hobbes. Dan is not a writer but he is @ThiccStauskas on Twitter. If you’d like to hear more, the two co-host The StausCast.
[Writeup after the jump]
SEGMENT ONE: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAN
Dan’s birthday was on Halloween. That game was also on Halloween. An unfortunate series of events ensue.
SEGMENT TWO: FEELINGSBALL
The vibes are bad again. Why does this coaching staff always seem to leave gaping holes in the roster? Have we done a complete 180 from last week? Where are the fast cornerbacks? WE SAID, WHERE ARE THE FAST CORNERBACKS?
SEGMENT THREE: LISTENER MAILBAG
Were we all wrong about Harbaugh or does this program have a hard ceiling? A question that makes Ace feel very old. The lack of upset wins is really crushing the program when combined with the inability to consistently beat rivals. We are now worried about Indiana, yes. How can this program salvage the season? Did the lack of an egregious Ben Mason personal foul set the wrong tone? How should Michigan handle rotating their glut of skill position players?
SEGMENT FOUR: BIG TEN PICKS
Man, this slate is ugly, and now it’s only six games thanks to Wisconsin. The teams we universally put our faith in are… Maryland and Minnesota? Yikes.
Songs:
- “No Place to Fall” — Townes Van Zandt
- “Half Full Glass of Wine” — Tame Impala
- “We’ve Been Had” — The Walkmen
What’s the worst they’re going to do, get burned?
November 4th, 2020 at 10:50 AM ^
If we had just kept Fisch and Speight in the program, we would've been fine.
November 4th, 2020 at 11:01 AM ^
Fisch was Harbaugh's best assistant. QB play hasn't improved with any amount of significance since he left.
November 4th, 2020 at 11:26 AM ^
Loving the cover art, Seth. You’re a champ
November 4th, 2020 at 1:48 PM ^
Great podcast! Agree on assessment of the Harbaugh era with average (for Michigan) recruiting, coaching mishaps, and above all else the lack of red meat for the partisans [Michigan fans].
State has wins against Michigan. Michigan under Harbaugh has wins against it's lesser rival but only .500 and no cathartic Ohio State upsets. Brutal to not have the hope when no goodwill exists from bummer losses to also-rans and mediocre performance against key benchmarks like Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Penn State.
November 4th, 2020 at 2:03 PM ^
You already know.
November 4th, 2020 at 2:17 PM ^
Harbuagh has raised the floor of the program, but not the ceiling. Time for him and Don Brown, and most of the staff to go. I'd be happy to turn the keys over to Gattis as the HC at this point and let him bring in his staff and see what happens.
November 4th, 2020 at 2:52 PM ^
if there's a coaching change, which i'm not saying there shouldn't be, it damn well better be a friggin' home run hire..... giving Josh a shot, when he's only been an OC for one season would be a poor choice, IMO
November 4th, 2020 at 3:11 PM ^
We had our home run hire already. It failed.
November 4th, 2020 at 10:27 PM ^
It was a long, towering flyball headed for the deepest part of the ballpark, but was held up by a stiff breeze coming in from the south...
November 4th, 2020 at 3:17 PM ^
I don't see a homerun hire for Michigan to make. We'll probably be rolling the dice on some G5 head coach or P5 coordinator after next year and crossing our fingers it goes better than last time we did that.
November 4th, 2020 at 3:50 PM ^
And who exactly would be a homerun hire? Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, or Urban Meyer deciding to drop a currently much more attractive gig to take on our challenging circumstances? Even if this were realistic, I see substantial cultural fit issues with any of them. The hot coach? We tried that, twice. Both Richrod and Jimmy H fit that description at the time. A lot of people were impressed with P.J. Fleck after his last season at Minnesota; how's that looking now? I don't think any serious person suggests that the problem is we didn't hire a Michigan man. Let me just observe that both Hoke, and again Harbaugh, checked that box.
This is an unpopular opinion, but I have come to terms with my assumption that we are a 9-3 level team that needs a magical season to make the playoffs. The fact that CFB is averaging one team fitting that description getting one out of the 12 playoff berths over the course of three seasons profoundly frustrates us, especially on top of our decades long frustration against OSU and in Bowl games.
Harbaugh was our homerun hire; hasn't worked, if you define working to include wins over OSU, B1G Championships or Playoff appearances. There are no more logical solutions we haven't tried. Telling myself anything different is setting myself up to be miserable most of the time about something that is an obsession. It's healthier to obsess less, and to lower my expectations.
November 4th, 2020 at 9:32 PM ^
I've been trying the pacified approach the last couple years. It lessens the sting of the losses, but ultimately curbs my enthusiasm for the sport in general. I am starting to look at college football and Michigan the same way I look at the NFL and Detroit Lions, and I don't like it. I want to be able to care again!
November 4th, 2020 at 4:12 PM ^
Ace pod is starting off strong this year...well done. Love the additions to the show, great convo.
The casual fan piece rings so true to me, and probably a lot of us here. I was with some during the game and I was astonished they were not as royally pissed off as I was. BUT had to remind myself they only see the surface level.
Any football fan who has a solid understanding of the game, Xs & Os, knew what they saw last Saturday and that is why all the die hard JH supporters are now chirping. Me included
November 4th, 2020 at 4:35 PM ^
Ah, a young Wolverine learns a little bit about controlling his emotions. Maybe in a few more years you can learn to not go on big shit-talking tirades that make us look like both an incredibly arrogant and incredibly dumb fanbase.
Here's a suggestion though, learn faster.
November 4th, 2020 at 4:37 PM ^
You definitely seem like someone who keeps a level head and a considerate demeanor at all times
November 4th, 2020 at 10:09 PM ^
They recorded a podcast for mgoblog where they just berated the posters of an internet forum. I didn't know it was possible to be less self-aware.
November 5th, 2020 at 10:13 PM ^
shut up
November 4th, 2020 at 5:31 PM ^
I may qualify as the "casual fan" but the thing I just couldn't handle was the corners being shredded consistently, and the pass rush not reaching the QB, but we just still let them hammer us the same way all game. Like, how many times do your corners have to lose before you help them out and not rush 7 dudes.
I understand that the lack of offensive production was what lost it, but the refusal to adjust defensively felt embarrassing.
November 5th, 2020 at 4:19 PM ^
Hard for any pass rush to make it home when they are playing against max pro w/ TEs chipping DEs and the quarterback throwing the ball in less than 2 seconds.
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